A new study by researchers at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., finds that although more African Americans are going to college in recent years, they tend to concentrate in majors that lead to lower-paying jobs.

The study found that only 6 percent of African Americans majored in pharmacy sciences, the bachelor’s degree which had the highest median earnings. But 12 percent of all African Americans with bachelor’s degrees majored in psychology or social work, one of the the lowest paying majors.

African Americans make up about 13 percent of all undergraduate students but they are 21 percent of the graduates in health and medical administration, 20 percent of the majors in human services, 19 percent in social work, and 17 percent in public administration. All of the these majors are among the lowest paying among the 137 bachelor’s degree programs analyzed in the study.

Anthony P. Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University and a co-author of the report, stated that “the low-paying majors that African Americans are concentrated in are of high social value but low economic value. Meaningful career planning before college can provide transparency about major choice and potentially prevent onerous debt and unemployment down the road.”

The full report, African Americans: College Majors and Earnings, may be downloaded by clicking here.

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